The pace of change and improvement in the realms of power generation, aviation, and other fields has accompanied extensive research for manufacturing components used in these fields. Conventional manufacture of metallic components generally includes milling or cutting away regions from a slab of metal before treating and modifying the cut metal to yield a part, which may have been simulated using computer models and computer aided design. Manufactured components which may be formed from metal include airfoil components for installation in a turbomachine such as an aircraft engine or power generation system, as well as mechanical components for other manufacturing, transportation, and structural systems.
The development of additive manufacturing, also known in the art as “3D printing,” can reduce manufacturing costs by allowing such components to be formed more quickly, with unit-to-unit variations as appropriate. Among other advantages, additive manufacture can directly apply computer-generated models to a manufacturing process while relying on less expensive equipment and/or raw materials.
Additive manufacturing can allow a component to be formed from a reserve of fine metal powder positioned on a build plate, which is processed by an electron beam or laser (using heat treatments such as sintering) to form a component or sub-component. Additive manufacturing equipment can also form components by using three-dimensional models generated with software included within and/or external to the manufacturing equipment. Some devices fabricated via additive manufacture can be formed initially as several distinct components at respective processing stages before being assembled in a subsequent process. One challenge associated with additive manufacturing includes maintaining the shape of a component before the manufacturing process completes. For example, some portions of a component may be structurally stable after the component has been manufactured, but may need additional structural support when some parts have not been built. Some designs may address this concern by including temporary supports which may be designed and positioned for removal after the component is manufactured. Due to variances between manufactured components and the manner in which these components are formed, the use of these supports can vary widely between component designs. The supports may also be manufactured such that they are capable of being removed only after the component is fully manufactured.